I seem to remember some threads some time aropego about the prohobitive costs of registering my car in Crete from another country - in Europe of courseDows anyone know the cost of doing this - I mean actually?Is there a website that will let me know what is involved?I love the idea of bringing my car from the Netherlands, but wonder if really it would be worth it.Alan

I assume there's a Greek Embassy in the Netherlands and you should be able to obtain all the necessary information and relevant paperwork there. You should also be able to get all the information you need from a KEP office (equivalent to Citizens' Advice in UK) or, if you visit the UK, from the Greek Embassy there. If you do bring the car here you should notify the authorities on arrival with the vehicle.

Without paying more than the car is worth it is only possible if you move your place of residence from another EU country to Greece. You then need lots of paperwork from the Greek embassy in your country and you need to own the car at least 2 years before you can do that paperwork. With all these papers, your offical notice of departure from your country and the car you can then travel to Greece and have 4 weeks time to get all the needed paperwork done here in Greece (residence permit, tax numbers, mot test aso) to get your car thru customs at the Iraklio port office.The four week timeline is way too short as you are dealing with many different Greek authorities

I know what I'm talking about as we have succeeded with this whole process. Can't ( or don't want) to remember the costs though.

I have heard all the horror storys about importing a UK car , funnily enough from people who have never done it .. I have a re reregistered car imported from the UK . The car was bought new in the UK and kept for 6 months in the UK . Simple visit to the Greek Embassey in London and a couple of email , phone calls . Batch of paperwork given by the Greek Embassey ,car driven to Crete . Visit to customs in Rethymnon a few days after arrival . Told to wait for a letter in about 3 months . Letter arrived , visit cutoms , pay just under 600 Euros , given Greek plates ( not red ones ) job done .. This was done by the guy I bought the car from , I have all the documentation to prove this happened .

THanks for that bbc. Finally, I get an answer from someone who has done it.I will make all the enquiries when I get back to the Netherlands and try from there.Meanwhile, I am enjoying again the Cretan hospitality for another few more weeks yet.Alan

The main factor is whether you are relocating to Greece for the first time and you apply for exemption from any taxes/fees associated with bringing your own property. To do that you must complete paperwork to prove that you are relocating, such as tax forms, utility bills etc, from your country of residence as well as paperwork related to the vehicle. Details are on the UK Consulate web site. In that case their shoul be very low administrative fees.

If you don't satisfy the exemtion condition then you have to pay a bigger re-registration fee that depends on the cost of the car new today, a depreciation factor depending on its age and, more importantly, the engine size. The fee is a percentage of the depreciated cost and the percentage goes up with engine size. That is why one person says it is quite reasonable, perhaps 10 % and another says it is astronomical, say 2,000 %. I have a booklet as a pdf if you want it but I can't send it until after the 19th.

Warwick

PS If you use the exemption route you should get red plates which restrict what you can do with the car for a few years (5?). If you pay the fee you should get normal plates and it is the same as having a car bought in Greece.

The red plates you have seen where surely not from imported cars - there are very few on the island. Families with at least 3(?) children were eligible for the net price (wihtout VAT) when buying a car and therefore have red plates.Warwick is right, with a self imported car you can't sell it for at least 5 years and only the owner and his family are allowed to drive that car.

@bbc Sounds rather unbelievable, as you only get the normal plates when the car is a non-private import.

As far as I am aware red plates are issued for any car where the owner has been granted a concession. That would include a car purchased at reduced cost because the owner has a large family AND a car imported at a reduced cost because of relocating to Greece. It does not include a car that has been imported normally and the full registratio fee paid.

Kilkis wrote:As far as I am aware red plates are issued for any car where the owner has been granted a concession. That would include a car purchased at reduced cost because the owner has a large family AND a car imported at a reduced cost because of relocating to Greece. It does not include a car that has been imported normally and the full registratio fee paid.

Warwick

I can't remember precisely, but the red plates for large families are something like AMY. Our personally imported Vauxhall was a MOO car and you still see some of those around.